March 2019 Minutes
MINUTES of the Meeting of DEEPING ST NICHOLAS PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 18th March 2019 at 7:00pm, at Deeping St Nicholas Church
(Recorded by the Clerk)
Present: David Branton (Chairman), Andy Croyle, Nicholas Watts, Barry Hopkins, Ian McDonald, Louise McGuiness, Charles Sly, Paul Barrett, Richard Ivatt
District Cllr Angela Harrison (Clerk)
District Cllr Bryan Alcock
District Cllr Jim Astill
County Cllr Nigel Pepper
3 members of public + Rev’d Erica Crust
1. Apologies
At the time of the meeting, apologies had been received from:
William Rodwell - Family Crisis
George Fitzgerald -Health Issues
County Cllr Elizabeth Sneath
PCSO Timms - Unable to Attend (Emailed Report)
Winston Brown (Press) - Attending Sutton St Edmund PC
2. Declarations of Interest (in accordance with the LGA 2000)
None
3. Public Speakers (Max 3 mins each)
• Chairlady of the Village Hall Committee wished to speak under item 6
Erica Crust
- Thanked the Parish Council for their continued support
- Initiate Civic Service in the Church to celebrate the Council’s efforts as a celebration following the elections and invite Holbeach Brass Band
- Notice Board in the Lichgate - would the Parish Council like to put up notices in the opposite board?
- Church is now open every weekend thanks to Paul Barrett and his wife
4. Minutes of the Parish Meeting held on Monday 21st January 2019
Proposed: C Sly
Seconded: A Croyle
It was resolved to formerly adopt the Minutes of the January meeting and for the Chairman to sign them as a true record.
5. Matters Arising from the Minutes
· If there are any names that residents feel should be on the War Memorial, then DB would be happy to speak to them about it
· Signal Box update
o Ongoing saga with Network Rail
o Want to come and talk to us again
· Are we interested in purchasing or leasing the signal box?
RI proposed that due to its current state of repair they demolish it
CS seconded his proposal
A debate was had around the table, and the following questions arose:
· The cost of upkeep?
· The cost of Leasing?
· The cost to Purchase?
LM thought it was a vital part of the village and a shame to let it go and that it could be used should the station be re-opened
It was resolved that DB pursue it and come back to a future meeting with more details
· Cllr Harrison and Cllr Alcock spoke about the Chairman’s Panel meeting which they attended, regarding the Caulton’s Field development.
o Issues regarding the layout, especially with the proposed affordable homes being sited adjacent to the railway track
o Officer’s were tasked to liaise with the Developer in order that they look to make changes to their plans
· On the Chairman’s request, Cllr Alcock confirmed that he had spoken with the Planning Officer with regards to the drainage issue at the Plough site
· A defibrillator has been purchased and sited at the Village Shop
6. Reports from District/County Cllrs
Cllr Harrison
• The Notice of Election (District & Parish) will be made this Friday 22nd March
• Close of Nominations or Withdrawals is 4pm Wednesday 3rd April
• All Nominations must be delivered by hand - Informal checks by appointment, from 22nd March
• Address any general Election queries to elections@sholland.gov.uk
Cllr Alcock
• DC has invited the Boundary Commission in to look at the Ward Boundaries to reduce the number of Cllrs and to look at moving to single Member wards
Cllr Astill
• Local Plan has now been formerly adopted 8th March 2019
Cllr Pepper
• Attended meeting with LM regarding the new bus service
• Training session for Community Speed Watch
Chairlady of the Community Trust Committee
· Raised awareness last year and have events for this year:
o Sunday table-top sale Spalding Common
o Wednesday 3rd April quiz at the Bridge Inn
o September 7th, Summer Fete 10am - 5pm
o Church Community Fun Day Saturday 13th July
· Registered for Charitable Status to assist with applying for funding
7. Police Matters
Inspector Timms was unable to attend the meeting, but sent the following via email:
The crime statistics for the period 21/02/19 – 13/03/19 are:
Hare Coursing – 2
Criminal damage - 2
No other reported incidents.
There was a consensus around the table, that these figures were not a true reflection, as there was knowledge of the following incidents:
· IM stated that there was a report of a serious attack with a knife and a hammer on the junction of Chappell Road and Coronation Avenue
· AC stated that there were some incidents of cars being broken into on Hayward Drive/Haybarn Road a fortnight ago
o Reported with an incident number and was also in the Voice
Clerk to write to PCSO querying these figures and to send a copy to Marc Jones PCC
8. New Bus Service + Call Connect Update
LM attended a meeting at the end of January with Mr Anthony Delaine-Smith
· Chairman and Cllr Harrison also attended
· 5:15 from Spalding - new timetables delivered to households
· Bissell poles - require 6-8 for the village @ £125 each
o Need agreement to purchase these poles
o 2 Campains Lane
o 1 Plough
o 1 Hop Pole
o 1 Banks Drove
· Need a site meeting with Highways to agree the sites
LM proposed that we purchase a maximum of 8 poles at £125
As LM was unsure how many poles were actually required, DB proposed that this matter be brought back to the next meeting when there is more information.
LM stated that she had heard good feedback regarding the Call Connect service and that it is being used more on Saturdays
9. Highways & Speed Awareness Update
· PB we have purchased another sign
· 3 more people have enquired to go on the training course
· Everything is in place; we just require a password to get onto the Eros system to report the issues
· Hope to get started in 2 weeks’ time
10. Playing Fields & Bus Shelters
a. New Play Equipment installed at Campain’s Lane
- The Chairman stated that he had been to view and inspect the apparatus which, although extremely expensive, has been very well received
- The Clerk stated that there had been a lot of positive feedback from parents on the Chatter Facebook page
b. New Picnic Bench installed at St Nicholas Park
- BH stated that it was installed at 8:30am and has been used a lot
o AC said that it was being used on the first afternoon that it had been installed
- The Clerk read out an email from a resident who would like ball games banned from the green in St Nicholas Park due to anti-social behaviour and vandalism
o Clerk to write to the resident to see if the option of putting up goal posts would be acceptable to solve the issue and also add this to the letter to the PCSO
- CS suggested that we look again at siting goal posts on the green
- BH stated that currently the children are using 2 trees as goal posts
- LM stated that when we suggested goal posts before, it was met with a lot of anger from local residents
- BH stated that he had seen older children/youths drinking and smoking in the small play area
o Suggested that the Clerk add an extra paragraph on the letter to the PCSO regarding this issue
o The Clerk to write to the resident offering the suggestion of installing goal posts on the green to change the direction of play
- AC added a word of caution about changing the direction of play, in that there is a road one end and the toddlers play area the other end
Campain’s Lane Bus Shelter
· This has now been pulled down and the site tidied up with gravel, which will give vehicles a safe place to pull over and give way to oncoming vehicles
· PB mentioned that he had received a complaint about the Bus Shelter being pulled down. However, he remembers speaking to that particular resident during the consultation period and that it was he who suggested that the land be grassed over.
o DB stated that grass will eventually grow through the gravel and that the area is tidier and will become an invaluable passing place at the top of the road.
11. Correspondence
1. Parish Council Highway Grass Cutting Agreement 2019-20
- The Chairman signed the agreement.
2. Community Lincs Insurance Services - letter stating that they will no longer be administering, so contact will be directly with Zurich
- Norris & Fisher Insurance Brokers Ltd have emailed to ask if they can quote
It was agreed to stay with Zurich this year and maybe look at getting other quotes later in the year
3. Questionnaire from LALC regarding clustering – this is not something that we currently do
4. Parish Map for Website - £500 for 3 years with free updates
· A discussion was had around the table and it was decided to revisit it at another meeting
o Members thought it was expensive
o It would be difficult to show the whole of DSN on a map as it is a long village
o None or very few footpaths in DSN
o Could we use a chunk of the Ordinance Survey map?
o Look at other ways of providing a map – draw one ourselves?
o School children competition?
5. Ball Games on St Nicholas Park (email from resident)
- Taken under Item 10
6. DSN Primary School - Email asking for a donation towards funding a Breakfast Club (Wraparound Care)
The Clerk read out the email which explained that there were currently no childcare providers in the village. So in order to prevent parents from taking their children out of the village, the school would like to provide this service.
PB proposed that the PC supports the school with £500
RI seconded
LM proposed an amendment of £250
CS seconded
A vote was taken on the amendment first, by show of hands:
3 for £250
4 for £500
It was agreed to send a donation of £500 to the school to assist with their start-up costs
12. Planning Matters
There are currently 10 undecided planning applications for Deeping St Nicholas Parish, all of which have been discussed at previous meetings.
There were no issues raised with any of the outstanding applications
District Cllr Jim Astill wished to speak about the Home Farm application
- With the original request for a Village Hall/Shop on the site, there was no contribution requested for education, however, as the Hall was removed from the site and additional houses proposed in its place, there has been a request for some contribution towards education
o There is a viability conversation in progress, looking at an additional 21 places for the village school and some extra places at the secondary school
o He stated that he had been contacted by some residents regarding the Village Hall location and directed them to comment via the SHDC planning portal
- DB asked about affordable homes
o Cllr Astill said he would find out and get back to the PC
- Cllr Alcock stated that if there is a requirement in the village then that would take precedence over anything else. However, if there was a surplus of funds, it would be shared out between other parties.
13. Accounts Update
See Appendix.
The Clerk stated that along with the Invoice, she had a list of training courses from LALC which she will scan and distribute via email to all.
14. Parish Council Elections 2nd May
The Clerk handed out Nomination Packs and outlined the procedure
Notice of Elections for both District and Parish elections, were distributed to Cllrs to display on the Notice Boards and in prominent places around the Village
It was confirmed that George Fitzgerald had decided not to stand again and a letter of thanks will be sent after the elections
15. Any other Business
A discussion was had regarding the offer of a Civic Service, as offered by Erica Crust at the start of the meeting.
- LM thought it was a good idea
- PB stated that he would support it as Erika is very pro Community orientated with everyone working together, e.g. the Church, Parish, District and County Council.
o The Church are prepared to roll out the red carpet, ring the bells, provide refreshments, etc.
- NW commented that it was very good that she is trying to bring everyone together
- DB agreed that Erika is wanting to thank us for the work we do in the community and that it would be churlish for us not to accept her kind offer
It was agreed to support this event and to try to arrange it for shortly after the elections
DB will speak with Erika and that PB will take this forward.
Meeting ended at 9:00pm
Appendix
